The present invention is directed to a reader apparatus for chip cards and, in particular, a reader apparatus for chip cards having a reader station with at least on insertion opening for the card and equipped with a bidirectional drive and a contact means for at least reading the card.
In addition to the long-familiar magnetic strip card, the chip card is playing an increasingly greater role in a large variety of equipment, particularly because it offers considerable advantages over the passive magnetic strip card with respect to intelligence, activity, data protection and multi-functionality. In addition, the two types of cards also differ in regards to their operating modes. Whereas a relative motion between the card and a write-read head of a reader is absolutely necessary for the magnetic strip card, the chip card requires the exact opposite, that is, no relative motion whatsoever between contact points of the integrated circuit in the chip card and the contact arrangement of the reader apparatus.
The relative motion required for magnetic strip cards, however, has the advantage that this motion can also be manually implemented, that is, without mechanical drive means, a measure that is advantageously practiced in what are referred to as pull-through readers. These pull-through readers have proven successful particularly in personal admission systems, particularly in combination with turnstiles, revolving doors or the like, because the card can be practically read when a user is passing by, that is in a rather off-hand manner during the walking motion of the user.
It would therefore be inherently desirable to also utilize the advantages of the pull-through method in combination with the chip card even though the prior art chip card seems inherently unsuited for this purpose because it is absolutely necessary for the card to remain stationary at least for a short time during the contacting and reading event.